


You Were Red, And You Liked Me Because I Was Boring

by kihoseok



Category: Cobra Starship, The Academy Is...
Genre: Anxiety, Bill is literally the cutest thing ever, College, Colours, Fluff, Insecurity, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Soulmates, a lot of self negativity on william's part, bill is a lil baby, gabe is an assholeish neon crayon, homophobia mentions, learning, one giant steaming pot of GAY, parent death ment, possible non-sexual ageplay in the future, shy!william, this has no sure plot it's just something I do when I get inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 15:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6616681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihoseok/pseuds/kihoseok
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>William lives in a world where soulmates are determined by the colour of your aura. All of William's friends are interesting, mixes of beautiful vibrant colours that attract people of all other colours to find them as a soulmate. William, however, in his eyes, is boring. He's a brown with a hint of dark green, and in extention, is considered ugly. When Gabe comes along however, everything changes. </p><p>----------------</p><p>Or where soulmates are bound by auras, and William begins wishing they weren't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaah, I'm so excited to finally begin this, I haven't done anything in so long and I'm so excited, forgive me if these first chapters are horrible. (Also this first chapter will be fairly short, considering it's an intro)

au·ra  
ˈôrə/  
noun  
the distinctive atmosphere or quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing, or place.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

William hates school. He hates school with a passion. His only escape is music, but he doesn't even have the right aura for that. Because William's aura is brown. Well, brown with a hint of dark green. Almost no one wants someone with a boring aura, and William knows that. 

William sighs as he looks at his friends from his dorm room window. He looks at Sisky's yellow and white aura, intensifying as he laughs at something The Butcher says. The Butcher smiles, his red and white aura taking on the warm glow it normally shows when he's happy. Mike slaps Sisky, most likely reprimanding him for something offensive, laughing light heartedly. William decided to stay in again today. He doesn't want people looking at his aura, even though he knows his friends can only see it if they really focus. William has such a _boring_ aura. Nobody wants a boring aura, but as luck would have it, William has one. He often hides in his room, only coming out when Sisky insists on going to a party, or William has to go to class. 

William looks outside his window again, but this time, his friends are gone, replaced by a light sheen of Chicago snow. William smiles and looks up, humming happily at the clouds, thanking them for bringing the little bit of white heaven. He blows a kiss to Mother Nature, silently thanking her. 

That's when he sees him. A man in a purple hoodie trying desperately to run through the snow, presumably before he freezes to death in that thin purple hoodie. He falls, and William laughs. He tries to get up repeatedly but falls again and again. That's when he notices something odd; he can't see the man's aura. William can see everyone's aura, it's a talent. No one simply has no aura, it's just not how things work, and this confuses him. Before he knows what's happening, he finds himself dashing down the stairs of his dorm building, thanking genetics for his long legs, to help the man. He runs out into the cold, the snow landing on his skin like small diamonds. He kneels down next to the man, snow instantly soaking through his jeans. "Hey," William asks in a soft voice, the initial rush wearing off. "Need some help?"  
"Yeah," the stranger replies smiling slightly. "Thanks." William sticks out his hand, surprised at how warm the other man's is when he takes it.  
Suddenly, William is blinded by a flash of purple, and a hint of red, along with a sudden surge of energy. As quickly as it comes, it fades. "Hey? You alright?" The stranger asks, a hint of concern in his tone. William shakes his head as if he can just dispel the thoughts.  
"Yeah, sorry, I'm fine," he says, giving a halfhearted smile. He helps the stranger up, surprised when the stranger is even taller than William himself. "I'm William," he says, smiling.  
"Gabe. Nice to meet you, William."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabe, meet William. William, meet confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for all the support! It may only be a bit but it means so much!!!!
> 
> After publishing note:  
> For some reason AO3 isn't posting my paragraphing so please bear with me trust me it bothers the shit out of me too I want to sCREAM
> 
> after after publishing note: I finally fixed it thank FUCK

dis·o·ri·ent  
disˈôrēˌent  
verb  
to make (someone) feel confused.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

William smiled as he learned the stranger's name. _Gabe._ It rolled right off the tongue. He replayed the way it over and over in his head. The man- no- _Gabe_ had a very slight, almost unnoticeable accent he picked up on, even if he had only heard one sentence. He looked up again to meet the Gabe's eyes. He wasn't used to that, looking up to see someone. He got a good look at Gabe for the first time. He had short fluffy dark brown hair, brown eyes, and somewhat dark- probably latin skin. It was in stark contrast to William's deathly pale skin and long brown hair. 

William was snapped out of his thoughts, however, when Gabe removed his hand from William's, it snapped him out of his thoughts. "Thanks, man," he said, brushing the snow off his jeans. "I'm glad to see people here are nicer than my old school. Gabe laughed, and William decided it was his new favourite sound. It wasn't harsh, but at the same time, wasn't too delicate. William felt a strange sensation rise up inside of him that made him smile. For the first time in years, and even despite the snow, William was warm.  
"Y-yeah," William stammered out, reaching the conclusion that the warmth was indeed a nice thing. "If you don't mind me asking, where did you come here from?" He continued, looking down at the snow as he talked. 

"Originally? I came from Uruguay. But if you're talking about colleges, I came here from NYU." Gabe said running a hand through his hair. 

"Oh, cool," William responded, rubbing his arms. "Do you know what dorm you're in?" He asked, wanting to keep the conversation going. He still couldn't figure it out, why didn't this man's aura appear? Everybody had an aura. Everybody. What made this man so special? 

Gabe pointed to William's dorm, hesitantly. "Uh, that one I think," he said, looking slightly unsure.  
"Oh, cool!" William said, slightly excited. "That's my dorm too!" William grew slightly nervous. He didn't want a roommate, he had made that clear with the dean. But the only vacant room was the one across the hall from him, he was guessing he'd have an unwanted roommate. Now Gabe seemed like a perfectly good person, but William thoroughly enjoyed his privacy.  
"Uh, it says I'm in room 314, could you maybe lead me there? I'm horrible at this kind of thing," Gabe asked, causing William to breathe a sigh of relief. Gabe was in the room next to him, rooming with Nate Navarro and Ryland Blackington. Nate and Ryland were cool, but from what William could hear through the pencil thin walls, partied a LOT. 

"Yeah," William sighed. "That's the room right next to mine, our RA, Joe, is a pretty cool guy, just don't steal his weed", He laughed, walking towards his– no, _their_ building. He had managed to elicit another laugh from Gabe, causing the warmth to spread all the way up to his cheeks, this time making him smile. 

"Weed? Man this place sounds cool as shit already!" Gabe laughed, making William's smile grow.

"Yeah, your roommates are pretty cool guys too, don't worry," William responded, smiling. 

"I'm glad. I can't take any more of the NYU stuck up prep shit." Gabe said, smiling. They continued their small talk while walking up the stairs, although that didn't last long because of their freakishly long legs. Eventually, William arrived in front of his room, putting the key in the lock. 

"You're right here," he said, pointing to the room next to his. "I hope you have fun," Gabe smiled as he fiddled with his keyring, finally finding the proper one. "Thanks for showing me up, William," he said, unlocking his door. 

"No problem," William smiled and opened his door, walking in and closing it behind him. He immediately flopped back down on his bed, question after question flooding his mind. 'Why was Gabe transferring right after the semester ended? Why was he staying here over Christmas break like William? And most of all, _why couldn't William see his goddamn aura?_

Gabe, the quite literal, mysterious boy next door


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> William is boring. Ashley and Melanie are not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH THANK YOUSO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT GUYS IT MEANS SO MUCH. (I actually wrote this chapter in the middle of school instead of working oops

Mind  
[mahynd]   
noun  
(in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.:  
the processes of the human mind  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, William awoke to the sound of pounding on his door. "Bill! Wake the fuck up! Bill! William! Fuckface!" The Butcher yelled, continuing to knock. 

William groaned, pulling himself out of his bed, tripping over the clothes strewn about his floor in his tired state. "What?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes as he opened the door.

“Dude, you need to get out more,” Sisky said, strolling into his room. “We’re gonna go meet up with some of The Butcher’s friends, get dressed and let’s go,” he said with finality in his tone. William sighed and nodded, he knew there was no arguing with Sisky when he was determined to get him out of his room.

“Fine,” William sighed. “Just get out so I can actually change and fucking shower,” He said, throwing a shirt at Michael when he laughed. 

“Sure thing,” Sisky laughed, walking back out. “Just be ready in 20 minutes or I will beat your fucking door down, Bill.” 

William chuckled halfheartedly, throwing on the nearest clean shirt and pair of jeans he could find, picking up a thick jacket and pair of boots to protect him from the cold of the Chicago winter. He opened the door and walked out, locking it behind him. “Yessss,” Sisky said, walking towards the stairs. “Thank god, I thought I’d actually have to beat down that goddamned door to get you out Will,” he laughed, patting William on the back. 

“Nah,” William replied, smiling. “I kind of wanted to get out today,” It wasn’t entirely a lie, he did want to get out a bit, he liked the snow, and if he was completely honest, he wanted to see Gabe. Or at least, his goddamned aura. Andrew smiled, leading them all out of the dorm. “Good, I’m glad. These people are nice, I think you’ll like them.” William nodded, he trusted Butcher’s judgement.

The walk wasn’t very eventful, it was full of Mike and The Butcher debating on whether Hawkeye or Black Widow would win in a fight, even though it was settled in the first Avengers movie when Natasha had beaten Clint, as William had pointed out multiple times. Eventually, they ended up in front of a coffee shop William had never been to before, although that wasn’t saying much, considering William tried to leave his dorm room as little as possible. When they walked in, William was greeted by the smell of fresh coffee, a commodity that he seldom got to enjoy as a broke college student, and freedom from the Chicago chill. The Butcher guided them to a table already occupied by two of what William assumed were females, and sat down. Will, Sisky, and Mike all followed suit, and William got a good look at their two table mates. 

They had both dyed their hair to match their auras, which was fairly common. One of them had a beautiful blue aura made up of all shades of blue, ranging from sea blue to a blueish shade of indigo. Her hair was a somewhat neon blue pixie cut, and she held the hand of another girl with a pink and purple aura, with half her hair dyed black, and the other half purple. The Butcher smiled, happy to get to be with his friends. “William, Sisky, Mike, meet Melanie and Ashley,” He said.

“Hi,” the purple haired one said. “I’m Melanie,”  
“And I’m Ashley,” the blue haired one said, smiling. The boys each introduced themselves, smiling happily at their new friends. Suddenly, Ashley’s face turned serious. “Okay, as you guys can see, we’re gay. I just need to know if any of you have a problem with that,” All of them shook their heads, and William snorted lightly.

“If I did, it would be a little bit hypocritical, don’t you think?” he said, smiling slightly.  
“Yes!” Ashley yelled suddenly, smiling. “Another gay! Thank you for freeing me from this heterosexual hell!” She laughed relievedly, smiling. Almost none of the shop looked over at her outburst, so William could only assume she must be a regular. The rest of their conversation was warm, filled with laughter and playful arguments. William nursed his coffee while adding bits and pieces in when needed, enjoying seeing his friends this happy. Finally, they all tired of the conversation and left. William, Ashley, and Melanie all exchanged numbers and said their goodbyes. William walked back to his dorm in silence, lost in his own mind.

Ashley and Melanie had such beautiful auras, the colours could fascinate him for days. Their auras together made for one of the best combinations William had ever seen, beautiful and soft, but not too overstated. He flopped back onto his bed, kicking off his boots and wrapping himself in the covers. They were beautiful, he was not. He extended his hand in front of his face, inhaling deeply and letting himself see and feel his own aura. A light brown glow slowly emanated from his skin, accentuated by the dark green that clung around his skin like moss. William sighed, looking at his aura. ‘ _ugly_ ’ he thought, closing his eyes. He wished he had an aura like Sisky’s, a bright, beautiful glow. Instead, he was stuck with himself. ‘ _boring_ ‘ he thought disdainfully.

Everyone in his world wants a beautiful aura. Something that attracts others, that creates a strong and elegant bond, one that creates the strongest love between partners. William was given a boring aura, and therefore, was boring. William liked to think as compensation, he got the gift of freely seeing auras, but people had even more interesting talents than that. Some people could smell auras, others could hear them, and some could even touch them, play with the colours and create beautiful displays of colours and light, moving the colours like the wind. William? William was always boring. William just saw and was painfully aware of just how boring he really was. He tended to avoid going outside because not only would he get overwhelmed by everyone’s colours, but he’d always feel inferior. He wished he could be like his mother, have her warm pastel yellow glow and be able to wrap colours around himself like jewelry. But then again, William wasn’t that lucky. 

He knew others had problems, such as not being able to see auras, or changing auras, but to William, they seemed like a blessing. Now that he thought about it, it was becoming more and more possible Gabe might just have a changing aura, or maybe he was even more unlucky than William and had a clear aura. People tended to almost shun clear people, it was common knowledge clear auras couldn’t make very strong bonds, and were considered even more boring than William. There was a very small amount of clears in the world, William had known one in high school, his name was Gerard. He and Gerard had stuck together, both members of the “well, we’re fucked” team. Gerard, however, had managed to make one of the strongest bonds William had ever seen with a red and black aura named Frank, and William was happy for them when they told him they would be moving back to New Jersey to be closer to their family. As William himself had determined before, he was quite unlucky. 

But maybe one day his luck would change.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update!! I've been swamped with school, sick, and on top of it all I had to travel cross country for a week. I hope my schedule will even out more soon!! Sorry if this isn't too good I posted it without proofreading bc I was feeling impatient but thank you for being patient!!!

con·fi·dence  
ˈkänfədəns  
noun  
1\. the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.  
2\. a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~

William woke up groggy, he groaned and rolled over, only to fall out of his bed with a thud. He sighed and rubbed his eyes as he untangled himself from the blankets as he tried to ignore the yelling coming from the room next to his. He fumbled for his phone in the darkness, squinting his eyes as the harsh light blinded him. The screen displayed the time, 3:04 am in bright thin letters. He groaned again, rolling back up in his blankets. Eventually, he mustered up the energy to check the refrigerator, turning on the light switch as he got up. 

‘ _Empty_ ‘ He thought as he sighed, as he slammed the door in exasperation. Luckily, he was prepared for this exact scenario. After his first semester, he had learned that braving the busy Chicago streets just for groceries wasn’t worth the effort, so he had a 24-hour pizza delivery service’s number in his phone, along with the local Walmart’s grocery delivery service website bookmarked in his laptop. William didn’t want to bother some poor convenience store worker at this hour of the night, so he figured he’d just call the local pizza shop. He hated calling people, let alone shops. He took a deep breath and called the place, taking deep breaths as the dial tone rang. 

“Chicago 24 Hour Pizza, this is Lyndsey, how can I help you?” a nice female voice chirped from the other end of the line.  
“Uh, I-I wanted to place an order,” William choked out as he clenched and unclenched his hands.  
“Sure Sweetie, what can I get you?” She asked, rustling audible in the background.  
“One medium cheese pizza plea-s-se,” William said, closing his eyes.  
“Sure, what’s your address?” The girl said, and William gave her the address, finishing up his order and hanging up the phone. The moment he hung up the phone, he sighed, throwing his head back. It wasn’t that he hated people, he actually quite enjoyed having company, he just hated strangers. Normally, he’d have Sisky or Mike do this for him if they were over, but they weren’t this time. He could still hear his neighbors yelling, presumably playing video games due to the fact that he heard “Eat shit fuckwit!” and “Killed you again bitch!” being thrown around every five seconds. 

He pulled out his wallet and pulled out the amount he knew he’d need when the delivery man came, sitting on his bed. He checked the time again, and sighed as he saw it was only 3:16. ‘ _Fuck._ ‘ was all he thought as he leaned back and let his back rest against the wall with a soft thud. He knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, so he put his phone back down on the nightstand and scrolled down to choose a playlist, choosing Tillian due to it’s calming effect, and turned it on, setting the volume to a soft quiet tone so to not wake up his other neighbors (if Nate and Ryland hadn’t done that already.). 

A little while later, William heard a knock at his door that almost made him jump out of his skin in his newly calm state. He hastily grabbed the money, counting it again just to make sure he had the right amount. As he opened the door, he was greeted by a bored looking delivery boy. The boy knew the routine by this time due to the fact that his shift was at the late night hours William ordered. William gave him the exact amount for the pizza, and the boy gave him the box and left. They never really talked, probably because William was shy and the boy was understandably unhappy to be working the night shift in Chicago. William handed the boy the money, the boy gave him the pizza, and they both retreated to their respective original positions. 

William had just sat down to eat when he heard another knock at the door, causing him to freeze. ‘ _Calm the fuck down William, it’s probably just Sisky_ ‘ he thought to himself, but his mind was racing. What if the RA thought the yelling was him and he got in trouble? What if some drunk kids wanted to beat him up? What if- his thoughts were cut off by a voice on the other side of the door. “Uh, William?” Gabe’s familiar voice asked, knocking again. William sighed in relief but was still reproachful when he opened the door.  
“Uh, y-yeah?” William asked, looking up at Gabe.  
“I was just wondering if I could hang with you for a while,” Gabe said, scratching his neck embarrassedly. “The guys’ yelling is giving me a headache and you’re kind of the only other person I know here,” Gabe offered a sheepish grin, looking hopefully at William.  
“Uh yeah, s-sure,” William said as he opened the door for Gabe to walk in.  
“Thanks, Guillermo,” Gabe said as he walked in, taking a look around him. William internally slapped himself, immediately feeling embarrassed at the state his room was in. He had someone over, and not just anyone, Gabe. Gabe, the boy with possibly no aura. Gabe, the exotic transfer from New York. Gabe, the literal fucking boy next door. Gabe, the practical fucking stranger. 

“Hey, uh, you okay?” Gabe asked, snapping William out of his thoughts.  
“Yeah, I-I’m just not used to having people around, that’s all,” Willam shrugged.  
“Oh, do-do you want me to go? Sorry if I made you uncomfortable-”  
“No!” William blurted, unable to stop himself before he knew what he was doing. Gabe looked at him, obviously slightly taken aback by the shy boy’s outburst. Even William was surprised by himself, he never did that, even with his friends.  
“Oh, okay, I just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, I mean, I do barely know you,” Gabe explained, stuffing his hands in his pockets.  
“No man, i-it’s fine,” William said, suddenly noticing he and Gabe were standing. “God, I feel like such a jerk, do you want to sit down?” William fretted, gesturing slightly towards the couch where the pizza box lay.  
“Sure, thanks,” Gabe said, and smiled at William, and William felt his heart melt a little bit. William followed Gabe to the couch, sitting on the other end, opening up the box of pizza awkwardly.  
“Want a piece?” William asked, nudging the box toward Gabe, feeling extremely awkward. Gabe beamed, taking a piece gleefully.  
“You, Guillermo, are an angel,” He said, causing William to raise an eyebrow.  
“Guillermo?” He asked, taking a bite of his pizza.  
“Oh, yeah, sorry. It’s your name in Spanish,” Gabe explained as he took a bite of his slice and continued to talk. “I slip into Spanish sometimes, sorry if it’s confusing.”  
“No, it’s fine, my friend Adam and I talk to each other in French a lot,” William said, taking another bite. Gabe swallowed, then winked.  
“That’s hot,” he said jokingly, but William immediately flared red despite his joking tone. “Relax kid, I was joking. I may be a fuckboy, but I’m not a total douchebag,” Gabe said, taking another bite.  
William continued to blush as he kept his eyes fixed on the floor. “I’m not a kid,” He muttered, finishing off the last of his slice.  
“Aw come on, you gotta be young. I say 19, tops.” William looked at his feet, pouting slightly.  
“Fine, I’m eighteen, you’re right,” William admitted, pouting slightly. “But you’re no older!” he added, smirking slightly.  
“Nope,” Gabe said, smirking. “I’m 20.”  
“That’s-s just one year!” William said, sighing. “It’s not THAT much.” Gabe shook his head, smiling.  
“I’m still calling you kid, like it or not.” Gabe retorted playfully.  
William sighed, rolling his eyes. “Fine.” Before he forgot, William looked back up. “UH, how did you know I was awake?” he asked.  
“I heard you thumping around, so I figured you were either getting killed or woke up, and I think the latter is far more pleasant.” William nodded, smiling as he took another bit.  
“Makes sense.”  
He was surprised at how well he got along with Gabe, normally it took him a while to warm up to people, let alone speak freely to them. Gabe was just calming, he was outgoing, but not to in your face. William smiled to himself, finishing off his second piece of pizza. He really hoped him and Gabe could at least be friends, if not something more. He had no idea why he felt this way, much less about a semi-stranger, but he did, and he kind of liked it.  
His thoughts were interrupted once again by Gabe, but William wasn’t complaining.  
“Hey, uh, can I maybe crash here? There’s no chance of me sleeping with those two screaming” He asked sheepishly, smiling.  
“Oh, uh- sure, y-you can take the bed if you want,” William replied, standing up.  
“No man, I’ll take the couch, it’s your dorm after all,” Gabe said, waving William off.  
“You sure?” William asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Gabe said, and smiled at William again.  
“Okay, cool, I’ll go get you a blanket and stuff then,” William responded as he picked up the pizza box and scuttled off to put it in the refrigerator, afterward getting a spare blanket and pillow from the closet and scurrying back to Gabe. “Uh, here you go,” he said, handing them to Gabe.  
“Thanks man,” Gabe said, laying down on William’s couch.  
“No problem,” William replied, turning out the light as he shuffled into bed.  
“Goodnight, Guillermo.” Gabe’s voice floated through the darkness.  
“Goodnight, Gabriel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also thank you sososososo much to my editor @petzawentz !! She's a total angel and great writer so please go check her out!!  
> side note: I have no idea if bill likes tillian, I was just listening to it and it seemed to fit the mood of the chapter idk.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is super short and unedited, I've been getting severe migraines lately and if I look at a computer screen too long I get one or if I have one it gets way worse, so 90% of the time I should be working is spent in dark rooms with soft music playing and a bottle of ibuprofen. I'm hoping they get better soon but until then updates may be infrequent and shorter, although I will try my best to write often.

alone  
əˈlōn/  
adjective & adverb  
having no companions in a particular position or course of action.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

William woke up, for the second time that day, groggy. He rolled over to check his phone, which read 10:36. He groaned again and stretched, sighing as he felt all his muscles tighten and relax. He looked on to his nightstand and saw a note scrawled in messy handwriting and smiled, remembering last night. It was the first real one on one interaction he’d had with someone who wasn’t in his core group of friends since he arrived in Chicago. He reached over to the note, unfolding the yellow index card carefully.

“ _Guillermo, thank you for letting me stay over last night, it means a lot. Sorry it was so sudden. If you want to plan anything else, my number is on the back ;)._

_xoxo  
\- Gabey_

_P.S.: your couch is comfortable as fuck._ “

William smiled as he turned the card over, putting the number in his phone. He smiled and as it appeared, the name “Gabey” flashing onto the screen. He looked down and sighed as he realized he hadn’t changed last night, and was still in the same clothes from yesterday. He walked over to his dresser, pulling out a long sleeved red shirt and pair of skinny jeans, then walked into the shower and proceeded to strip, feeling the cold air really hit him. He hopped into the shower, squeaking as he felt the cold water hit him. William had gotten lucky. Not only did he not have a roommate, in his dorm everyone had their own shower, there were no communal showers. As the water warmed up and William felt more comfortable, he began to sing as he washed his hair.

“I've been let loose and now I'm crawling up the walls, word is I got away and now I must be caught. Don't leave, take it from me, I'll be more than a King,” he took a breath as he began rinsing his hair, smiling at the freedom the privacy gave him. “I'm going crazy and I've been awake for days, my mirrors are stained with painted portraits of your face. Don't leave, take it from me, you're my dirty disease!” He belted, his smile widening as he stepped out, wrapping himself in a towel. “My flat line inhibition, is my ammunition. I'm just fighting to get by,” he continued as he shimmied into his pants and shirt, toweling off his hair.

Suddenly, William heard a banging at the door, and Gabe’s familiar voice belting out the verse. 

“Just spit me some direction, I'll be your erection. How could you leave me behind?”

‘ _wait, WHAT?_ ‘ William thought, giggling. ‘ _Did he just replace infection with erection?_ ‘ William walked to the door, shaking his head as he smiled. ‘ _idiot_ ‘

“I'm a mess and you're worse! Just give me time to give you a waste of time. One of those nights when you leave me for no reason, I'll give you a reason!” Gabe continued, almost falling through the door as William opened it, blushing furiously as he saw some of the other residents had opened their doors to see what the commotion was. 

“Gabe!” William yelled, laughing. “What the f-fuck?”

“I heard you singing and couldn’t resist, sorry Guillermo,” The elder said, laughing and slinging an arm around William. “Your voice is just so pretty.”

William could feel his blush deepen about thirty shades, internally smacking himself for forgetting the walls were as thin as a curtain. He rarely sang, but then he made a mental note to never sing. “S-sorry,” He said, looking sheepishly at the floor. “D-did I w-wake anyone up?” he asked, guilt washing over him.

“No no Bill, you didn’t, don’t worry,” Gabe said, flashing his thousand watt smile at William. “Besides, that’s a great way to be woken up. If I had known there’d be a singalong, I would have stayed!” William’s blush deepened even more, and he was sure he looked like a lobster by that point. “Really, you do have a pretty voice,” Gabe reassured, and suddenly, just as quickly as he came, he was gone, shutting the door behind him with a wink. 

“What the fuck?” William asked himself, shaking his head as he pulled a slice of pizza from the mini fridge he had in his room and throwing it into the microwave.

Once again, Gabriel had left him completely mystified.


End file.
